Dr. Ambler was active in dental education at Western Reserve University, and in public dental hygiene programs. He was born in Medina, Ohio into a family with several dentists. After completing his M.S. at Hilldale College (Michigan) in 1864, Ambler came to Cleveland to study dentistry with his uncle Nathan Hardy Ambler. Then he went on to graduate from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati (1867), and returned to Cleveland to earn his M.D. from the Western College of Homeopathic Medicine (1868).

Dr. Ambler practiced dentistry in Cleveland from 1867-1886, and lectured at the Western College of Homeopathic Medicine from 1868-1870. He moved to New Hampshire in 1886 but returned 6 years later to become Professor of Operative Dentistry at the Dental College of Western Reserve University. Ambler served as Dean of the Dental Department of Western Reserve University from 1893-1906. This was a tumultuous time at the dental school, relations with the medical school were strained, possibly due to Ambler's homeopathic background. During this period the dental school moved into a separate building than the rest of the medical school. In 1907 the school was sold to a private operator and Ambler retired from teaching the following year (1907), but he continued to practice dentistry until his death in 1924.

Dr. Ambler was also interested in innovations in dentistry and also the history of dentistry and wrote the following books:
Tin Foil and Its Combinations for Filling Teeth (1897).
Around the World in Dentistry (1910).
History of Dentistry in Cleveland, Ohio (1911)

Source: Medicine in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County: 1810-1976 / edited by Kent L. Brown Cleveland OH; The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland 1977